After adding the garlic, add 6 to 12 oz beer, depending on taste. Then reduce the volume of liquid by half. When reduced, add the chicken/vegetable broth. Bring mixture to a simmer and reduce by 1/4 volume. Add chopped thyme and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Ladle hot soup into oven-safe bowls, place a crostini on top with some Rosedale, and then place under the broiler until brown. Enjoy!

Philadelphia’s Grid Magazine is featuring our Full Nettle Jack as their cheese of the month! Grid is a free, monthly print publication focused on sustainability issues and initiatives in the Greater Philadelphia area. Here’s what they had to say about Full Nettle Jack :

“This bright-tasting cheese is both vegetal and herbaceous with a kick of vinegary acidity. The taste evokes dill pickles, and would do well as slices on a Cubano sandwich.”

Full Nettle Jack (pictured) is made by Sam Kennedy over near Princeton, New Jersey. He’s the cheesemaker for Cherry Grove Farm, a sustainable dairy that supplies so many great wedges to the Philadelphia area. I’m a big fan of his rustic natural-rinded wheels, like this one (or his nutty Herdsman).”

We are excited to announce the release of our newest cheese: Layla! Unlike any other cheese at Cherry Grove Farm, Layla is made in a Neufchâtel style. You may have seen the word “Neufchâtel” in the cream cheese section of your local grocery store and thought, “That’s a pretty fancy name for low-fat cream cheese.” You were correct. Authentic Neufchâtel is actually a bloomy rinded lactic cheese that is the cow’s milk version of the ever-popular goat’s milk Chèvre. Neufchâtel is credited as being Normandy’s first cheese, dating back to the sixth century. It was around even before Camembert and brie. Layla is also the first cheese that our Cheesemaker, Sam, developed to gain his rite of passage from Assistant Cheesemaker to Head Cheesemaker.

In keeping with the theme of “firsts,” Layla is also the namesake of Cherry Grove’s first dairy cow! When Kelly first started this farm, Layla was the first cow that provided him with milk. Consequently, Sam thought it would be appropriate to dedicate his first solo cheese venture to Kelly, his mentor, by honoring Layla’s memory.

One of the most interesting qualities of Layla is its mutability. Layla matures 2 to 8 weeks from its “born on date.” Due to such a short aging process, the milk must be gently pasteurized. During the first 3 weeks after its born on date, Layla has a mild and creamy flavor profile, with a flaky texture that melts in your mouth similar to a young Chèvre. Around week 4, the cheese starts to ripen and an age line appears. From there on out, Layla slowly transforms from a mild-mannered young lady into a sharp, salty, mushroomy masterpiece.

Pairing Ideas:

Pair young Layla with champagne, lighter white wines, session beers, or a Belgian Witte. Pair Layla at 4 weeks with Riesling, Pinot Noir, or a Pilsner. Pair Layla at 8 weeks with Cabernet, Syrah, or a good strong IPA. Layla is also delicious with seasonal fruit, especially blueberries and concord grapes.

This week, if you drove by Cherry Grove on Route 206 you would have gotten quite an eyeful: lean with long, thin legs…big, brown eyes with thick lashes…who are these gorgeous gals hanging out on the farm?

Our dairy herd spent most of the week in the front pastures of the farm. Looking out at them got me to wondering, “does everyone know how great these cows are?” Whether you’re a community member who likes to see the cows nodding their heads at you when you’re stuck in 206 traffic or a frequent visitor to the farm, there’s probably some information about our cows that you don’t know.

Here at Cherry Grove Farm, the cows in our dairy herd are predominantly Jersey Cattle. The Jersey here references Jersey, England, where in 1786 the States of Jersey began a ban on importing any cows to the island of Jersey to protect and promote the growth of a pure Jersey breed. That Jersey breed has now become one of the most coveted dairy breeds in the world.

Jersey cows are often called the “Queen of Breeds” and “naturally produce the highest quality milk for human consumption,” according to Chaney’s Dairy Barn and the American Jersey Cattle Association. More than being delicious and creamy milk (perfect for both drinking and making cheese), Jersey milk is one of the most nutritious cow’s milks available. Jersey milk is 5.5% milk fat, 3.9% protein and 15% milk solids, which makes for ultra creamy milk. For a comparison, Holstein cows’ milk is 3.5% fat, 3.1% protein and 12.2% solids.

The high protein level in Jersey milk is a big help for Sam, our cheese maker. Protein is made up of amino acids, and those acids allow us coagulate the milk and make curds.* The high levels of milk fat and solids in Jersey milk help make those curds extra rich and velvety.

At this point in the spring season, our herd is enjoying sweet grass and the last of the early spring buttercups that inspire our creamy Buttercup Brie. If you want to try the result of their grassy gluttony, stop by to try our Buttercup Brie or fresh cheddar cheese curds– both are young, mild cheeses that aptly exhibit the high quality of Jersey milk. You can pick up any of our cheese at the Farm Store, which is open Thursday through Monday, from 11am to 5pm.

And to see the beauty of the cows, you’re more than welcome to come visit the herd and their playful calves at the farm. We have a daily public milking at 3pm, which all are welcome to attend. In the farm’s Milking Parlour you’ll see Farm Manager Kelly Harding demonstrate how we milk our cow, process the milk and transfer into our cheese room.

* Coming soon: if you’re intrigued by this process and want more information, we’ll also be posting about how milk is transformed into cheese!

At Our Farm Store Now!

Stop by our Farm Store and take advantage of this wonderful grass-fed ground beef sale, while supplies last. Locally grass-fed beef is usually much more expensive than the ground beef you can get from the supermarkets, because it locally raised and fed the right way off organic certified pastures.

In a heavy sauté pan, sauté the onion until translucent, add the beef and a little salt and break down with a fork until browned and fully cooked. Add the tomatoes and cook for about 5 minutes. Set aside.

In the meantime, in a large pot of boiling, salted water cook the pasta to al dente and drain. Return to the pot and melt in the butter. Toss to coat.

Whisk together the eggs, milk, hot sauce, salt, pepper, and mustard. Fold in the meat- tomato mixture. Stir into the pasta and add the cheese. Over low heat continue to stir for 3 minutes or until creamy – Enjoy your locally Beefed-up Mac and Cheese.